As other comments hint but don't directly say: the incentives for WebMD are the same as any other website: revenue through ad sales. WebMD is owned by Internet Brands, which is owned by private equity, so of course it's not just revenue, but profit. Any website needs a source of money, just to pay to keep the lights on, much less develop and maintain the content. As long as ad-driven revenue is the incentive, the result will always be perversely steered towards attention-getting content.